Even as the Gujarat Congress is struggling to keep ‘rebel’ leader Shankarsinh Vaghela in check, it virtually extracted an oath of fealty from 13 of its 57 MLAs and paraded them before the media on Tuesday evening, while the faction-ridden Opposition party prepares to launch an agitation from Friday in support of various demands of the farmers and the Patidars, among others.

And, reports suggested that Rahul Gandhi could replace Gujarat party chief Bharatsinh Solanki on Friday to keep a lid on simmering rebellion among different factions. Vaghela, a former RSS-BJP strongman and a former Chief Minister, was reported to have given an ‘ultimatum’ to the party leadership to replace Solanki by June 15. Gandhi is going overseas to meet his grandmother in Italy.

Amid intense speculation that 26 out of 57 Congress legislators could join the ruling BJP anytime along with the 77-year-old Vaghela, even before voting takes place for the Presidential election, an apparently panicked party leadership virtually scrambled 13 MLAs from the “Bapu faction” and paraded them before the media. On being prompted by leaders, these legislators claimed they were ‘whole-heartedly’ with the Congress Party, and accused the BJP of spreading rumours about their alleged switch-over to win the forthcoming Assembly elections.

“The BJP has failed on all fronts and is trying to spread rumours about our defection as part of its strategy to win the polls,” said Balwantsinh Rajput, Congress Chief Whip in the Gujarat Assembly, and a close Vaghela relative.

Interestingly, Vaghela’s son Mahendrasinh, MLA, and his loyalist Raghavji Patel, who had openly expressed dissatisfaction over party affairs, were not present at this parade-meeting.

Old-timers recall the Vaghela style of functioning in 1995-96, when, as a top BJP rebel, he had scrambled 47 out of 121 BJP MLAs and airlifted them from Gandhinagar to Khajuraho — his own party did not have the foggiest idea of what he was up to! That is why sources in both the BJP and Congress continue to expect something out-of-the-blue from the old warhorse, who has been the most popular and resourceful strongman in both the BJP and the Congress in his long political career.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be visiting Gujarat on June 28 and 29 in what will be his 14th visit to the home state after assuming office in May 2014.

Is the Congress bracing for its own Vaghela moment?

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